Novel Idea here! I know it’s been a little while since we last had a post, but remember we’ve decided to shift to a monthly update schedule. Heck, a few of you have asked if we’re still in business!

Well, I’m happy to report we are indeed still in business and have made some serious strides with some really cool internal tools including stuff like Version Control. What that means is we’ll be able to have multiple people working on the project at the exact same time! (If it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, you’ll need to take my word for it).

But wait! There’s more!

I’m happy to report the polishing touches upon Appleloosa Valley, our enormous worldspace you’ll be exploring in the events of This Coming Storm are almost complete. There’s still a bit left to do, but once that’s done, I hope to have some cool new Environment Trailers for you to enjoy.

Introducing Little Tinker!

Before we get to Blue Nova’s latest artistic masterpieces, I want to introduce a new member of the team. I’m very excited to welcome none other that Little Tinker to our team!

I first met Little Tinker in the Equestria Daily Contributor Skype Chat (that’s a really long name). As we were both technically-minded folks we hit it off fairly well and he has been kind enough to be a beta reader for my latest short story endeavours (which I’ll be chatting about at the end of the post).

But why should you care? Only because Little Tinker is the Sysadmin and a developer for none other than the Poniverse series of websites. The guy’s got more scripting and coding knowledge in his fetlock than I do in my entire body.

So please welcome him! I’m totally thrilled to have him on board. Now that I’ve prepped you, he’s his own introduction in his own words!

Little Tinker – Script Engineer

Charitably described as “happy-go-lucky” (but more accurately as incorrigible), Tinker failed the saving throw against Novel’s persuasion attempt and found himself added to the GoE Technical Team. While he has been known to write a line of code or two, this is his first foray into game scripting and is wondering what horrific crime he did in a past life for GECK to be his first game engine. He currently occupies his days with his duties here, and at Poniverse and Ponified Cards. Tink has no free time.

New Artwork!

Now, let’s talk art!

It’s been a while since we’ve had new material to show you. So today, you’ve got three completely original pieces!

We’ll start with something plain ol’ fun!

Seriously, how real does this look? You’ll be seeing this all over, most notably before the secret Steelstone Security Complex! (Nova threw this together one night during our Director’s Meeting in just a few minutes. It’s epic)

A twist on the magazine first revealed by Fallout: Equestria – Project Horizons, Martial Mayhem is the Unarmed Magazine replacement for “This Coming Storm.” While Kkat did an excellent job with all the Skill Books, Somber tackled the magazines and we need to give credit where it’s due! (That being said, I wanted something a bit tamer than the original description!)

Finally, we have my favorite of the bunch. Blue Nova outdid himself with this gorgeous Ministry of Peace poster “We Must Do Better.” While it’s a bit different from the original descriptions, we wanted to reflect that classic 1930s/World War II poster style. Seriously, I just look at this and wonder what in the world I did to get such amazing artistic talent on the Manehattan Project!

A Note From Novel

So now is my little bit. I’d like to let you all know I’ve released the next story in my ongoing series which I have decided to finally dub the Wavelengths Timeline. Reasons why this name was chosen will be revealed on my FimFiction blog next week (but you guys get to know first).

Synopsis:

Sunset hates dealing with chaos surges, no matter how amusing Moon Dancer finds them. After a particularly annoying surge while tutoring Moon Dancer in her advanced telekinetic studies, Sunset takes refuge in the teacher’s lounge. Though she was only looking for a cup of scalding hot tea, Sunset finds a pony walking down the same path she once walked, giving her an opportunity she’s never had before…

To help somepony not out of guilt, but just because it’s the right thing to do.

I’ve also written up a few more followups, if you enjoyed my previous offerings. To check them out, head over to Novel’s Nook.